Specifications

Longline: Bree’s boyfriend disappears on the morning of her first camping trip.

Genre: Thriller/Horror

Format: Short script

Budget: Low To Mid ($500 – $20,000)

Characters: Three, a male and female (both late teens to early twenties). An older man (thirties to fifties).

Locations: Mostly exterior (woods and mountains), one house, and one tractor trailer/box truck/

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FADE IN

EXT. BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS – DAY

A blood red truck courses down the Skyline Drive, a road of breathless views atop the Appalachian crest.

The truck engine roars inside a mountain tunnel, straight into the heart of the Earth. Everything goes black.

FEMALE VOICE
Where are we going?

MALE VOICE
I told you already.

The truck barrels out of the tunnel against the rushing wind. The sunshine illuminates the autumn trees of the mountain range.

INT. TRUCK – CONTINUED

David Martin (19) is blonde and burly southern stock. He drives with one arm outstretched as he fiddles with the radio. A country song breaks through with static.

Bree Longhorn (19) sits in the passenger seat with her feet up on the dashboard. She is a skinny pale thing with long locks. David may be a cowboy, but Bree is an equestrian.

BREE
I already forgot.

DAVID
You’ll see.

TITLE CARD: “86 hours later”

TELEVISION NEWS REPORT

A small cable news outlet in central Virginia reports on a local missing persons case. The concerned journalist sitting at the fake desk is wearing a pink pant suit.

JOURNALIST
…And finally, our top news story tonight. Channel 9 News is proud to bring you the latest report regarding two Virginia college students declared missing Monday evening.

A digital picture of an attractive young guy and girl appears in the frame.

JOURNALIST
David Martin and Bree Longhorn, both 19, were last seen Friday afternoon as they left together for a weekend camping trip.

In the photograph, Bree and David embrace each other, faces curved together, smiling hard for the camera.

JOURNALIST
It is believed the pair were traveling to an unknown location in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Martin’s Father first reported him missing Monday morning when he failed to show up for work.

Flip. The camera angle shifts and the journalist turns her head.

JOURNALIST
Attempts to contact the couple have been unsuccessful and relatives fear they may be in danger.

She pushes her chin out for emphasis.

JOURNALIST
A Facebook page has already been set-up to help find the missing students. Authorities working on the case believe they are traveling in David Martin’s red 2005 Ford F150 truck with the license plate REDNEC2. If you have any information on their whereabouts, you are urged to call our tip line.

TITLE CARD: “One month later”

EXT. NIHL’S POND – DAY

A volunteer search party combs the sloping banks of Nihl’s Pond, where just that morning, a boat trawler ordered by the FBI clawed up the F150. The blood red paint had turned brown in the clay sediment below.

TITLE CARD: “7 months later”

TELEVISION NEWS REPORT

The journalist who read the news at Channel 9 was solemn.

JOURNALIST
It has been over 5,000 hours since a pair of Virginia college freshman students vanished on a camping excursion into the Blue Ridge Mountains on September 1st 2013. However, the FBI still has yet to make a break in the case. On March 3rd, Police recovered David Martin’s red Ford F150 truck on the bottom of Nihl’s Pond in Chiltuck County. Despite massive searches by land, water and air, the only other evidence found with regard to the missing persons case is a hawk feather that officials say contains DNA belonging to Bree Longhorn. The investigation is still being treated as a missing persons case, although authorities have not ruled out the possibility of foul play.

INT. TRUCK – DAY (CONTINUED)

BREE has just finished painting her toenails. She has both of her perfect feminine feet propped up on the dashboard of the truck. Her ten toes glisten pink in the fading sunlight.

BREE
Where is this place? God, I feel like we’ve been driving forever.

DAVID
Bree, I already told you.

BREE fans her toes and taps her foot to the music from the radio.

BREE
No, you didn’t.

DAVID
Yes, I did.

BREE
You said we were going camping but you didn’t tell me the name of the campground.

DAVID
It’s not a campground. I told you-

BREE
You didn’t tell me anything! We didn’t plan this trip together, like a real couple. You just tell me what to do and I don’t like it. You don’t talk to me.

DAVID
It’s a private site, just a large clearing in the woods with a fire pit and a picnic table.
Big Mike took me last summer. It’s on his Uncle’s property. He owns a lot of land up in the mountains. It’s really pretty. I promise, you will like it. Even for a NoVa girl like you.
So yeah, I told you we were going camping. I told you to bring boots, sweaters, underwear, socks, and jeans. I told you I would take care of the rest and I’m doing that right now.

BREE idly twirls the loose hair at the end of her braid. Outside her window, the red and yellow leaves blur into an impressionistic painting.

BREE
I know, but where is this campsite exactly? I don’t even know where we are on a map.

DAVID
It’s in the mountains. But that’s what GPS is for.

BREE
Does his uncle know we are going to be using it?

DAVID
Well, I didn’t call him up personally if that’s what you mean.

BREE
You didn’t ask him?

David adjust his baseball cap, a nervous habit.

DAVID
No, I didn’t ask him. I asked Mike and he said it was fine. Trust me.

BREE
Well, I just wished we would have discussed this a little more. I’ve never been camping before and I probably won’t like it, so I don’t understand why you want to take me to the middle of nowhere-

David groans loudly, drowning out her shrill voice.

DAVID
That’s what camping is. You are supposed to go camping in the middle of nowhere.
You wake up in nature and breathe it in. You don’t go to a crowded campground and have 100 other people around you screaming and talking and walking around.

BREE
Well, for someone like me who, who doesn’t know how to camp, it would have been nice.

DAVID
Oh, I can camp. I camp hard. Don’t you worry you’re purty little head.

BREE gazes out the window. A yellow diamond sign appears around a bend. Bree reads the words aloud.

BREE
Watch for falling rocks.

David snorts a laugh to himself. Bree looks at him, confused.

BREE
What?

DAVID
Nothing. It’s just the-way-you-said-it.

He sniggers loudly. She rolls her eyes and goes back to staring out the window. David looks guilty.

DAVID
Hey – wanna hear a story about that sign?

BREE inspects her toe nail polish – almost dried. DAVID downshifts the truck around the mountain bend.

DAVID
Well, it’s actually this old Indian legend.

BREE
Native American.

DAVID
(confused) What?

BREE
You said Indian.

DAVID
So?

BREE
You said Indian legend!

The shout explodes from her lips.

BREE
They are not from actually from India. They are Native Americans.

David slouches over the steering wheel, deflated by her nagging.

DAVID
Oh my God! Relax.

Bree bristles and cuts her eyes at him. He knows she hates being told to ‘relax.’

DAVID
I’m just trying to tell you a story my Mom told me whenever we passed that sign on camping trips. I’m just trying to talk to you, you know? But if you don’t care, then- oh well.”

BREE
Fine! I’m listening. Seriously, I’m listening.

DAVID eyes her suspiciously but she has a sweet and sincere earnestness in her voice.

DAVID
Well, I don’t even really know if I remember it. It’s one of those stories that depends on who is telling it. Whatever I don’t remember from her story, I would fill in the blanks and make it my own. You know, kinda like the old joke about a guy walks into a bar?

BREE
So, what’s the story according to you?

DAVID adjusts his baseball cap as he squints his eyes and scratches his stubbled chin for dramatic effect.

DAVID
Well, ‘round dem dar hills…

Bree giggles. David stares at her, shocked.

DAVID
Oh, so you can laugh at rednecks but I can’t say Indians?

Bree points her finger in the air to make a point.

BREE
No! You are a redneck. They are actually not Indians but you definitely are a redneck!

They both erupt into laughter. David straightens up in the driver’s seat.

DAVID
Okay, okay. Here it goes. Back in the day, Native Americans lived all across the land here, all throughout Virginia. There were tribes of them and each tribe had a leader.

He peers over at her to see if she is keeping up. She settles her hands in her lap.

BREE
Okay.

DAVID
Well, the tribe that lived on this particular mountain that we are driving on now had a very old and powerful leader. He had many sons but only one daughter. She was the youngest and her name was Falling Rocks.

BREE
Weird.

DAVID
I’m not finished yet. There’s more.

David mockingly points his finger in the air to make a point.

BREE
Yay. (yawn)

David continues without missing a beat. They act more like siblings and both seem to enjoy this playful fighting.

DAVID
Well, the daughter grew up to be very beautiful and all the warriors from every tribe wanted to claim her.

BREE
Claim her?!

DAVID
Yeah, you know. Back in the day, it was a political thing. And the Indian Chief, he wanted her to marry some big deal kind of guy. So while Daddy’s out there finalizing her wedding, she is always wandering off and disappearing. One day, he goes looking for her and catches her in a tent with someone else, a young brave who nobody respects.

BREE
Figures.

DAVID scrunches up his face, playing out the characters now.

DAVID
The Chief was furious! He throws the boy out and locks his daughter up.

BREE
Aww!

She curls her lips down into a frown. David nods.

DAVID
Tragic, right? So now the girl just sits in her tent, crying all the time. Everyday, it gets closer to the wedding, the more she cries. Well, the night before the wedding he catches them again. He tries to kill the boy right then and there but she stands in front of her man. Her Father doesn’t want his daughter to despise him, so he stays his hand.

BREE
Oh dang!

Bree shouts when she taps one of her toes, smudging her nail polish. David looks over, but doesn’t even feign sympathy.

DAVID
Aw, summertime sadness.

They laugh playfully again. David cracks the window and lights up a cigarette.

DAVID
Anyway, the Chief decides to make a deal with them. He would give the boy a special task to complete by the morning. If he succeeds, then the wedding will take place as planned, but he can take the warriors place as the groom. The boy agreed and Falling Rocks was so happy, she kissed her Dad.

BREE
What was the task?

DAVID
The Chief told the boy to hike up the mountain and find a some special flower or something.

BREE
What flower was it?

DAVID
I don’t know, I can’t remember what it was. Anyway, it’s just a story. I’m making it up as I go along.

They both laugh at the absurdity of it all.

DAVID
The point is, he would prove himself to be strong and cunning enough to win her hand.

Bree rolls her eyes again.

BREE
Ugh, I hate that term.

DAVID
Who cares? The point is, the girl waits all night by the door to her tent. At dawn, the tribe wakes up and prepares for the ceremony, but nobody could find the bride. Turns out, when the sun began to rise and the boy wasn’t back, she went up into the mountains to try to find him.
The Chief sent out the biggest search party he could gather. They called through the trees, ‘Falling Rocks! Where are you?’ But they couldn’t find any trace of her. The days turned into months and then into years. The Chief sent out search party after search party, but they never found either of them. Some say they ran away together. Some say they were eaten by a bear. And some say Falling Rocks is a ghost that haunts the mountains, still searching for her long lost love.

Bree looks confused.

BREE
So, what does that have to do with the sign?

David almost forgot to finish his long winded joke.

DAVID
Oh yeah! When the white man came and stole the land from the Indians-

BREE
Native Americans.

DAVID
God! Indians, Natives, what difference does it make? When the white man took their land, the Chief made a deal with them. He promised he would surrender the tribe if the white man promised to continue the search for his daughter.
And that is why you see signs around the mountain that say ‘Watch for Falling Rocks.’

DAVID nods and lets out a puff of smoke. He is satisfied. BREE stares at him.

BREE
That’s it? That was so stupid. And your Mom told you that? Wow.

BREE giggles as DAVID tenses up.

DAVID
Hey! It’s just a story, okay. Relax.

Bree cuts her eyes at him again. She is just about to scold him when she feels something odd, a ticklish warm glow between her legs. Blood. Blood was oozing. BREE shudders.

BREE
Uh oh! Uh, can you pull over at the next exit please?

DAVID
No-pe.

DAVID draws out the little word for emphasis. BREE is shocked.

BREE
Um, excuse me. ‘Nope?’ That’s rude.

DAVID
We are almost there. What? did you forget something in the 3 bags you brought along?

BREE
David, I’m asking nicely, pretty please. With a cherry on top. Can you just please just pull over?

She pulls on her Ugg boots.

DAVID
Mmm, delicious.

He smacks his lips at her. Bree is fed up.

BREE
Ugh, shut up.

DAVID
Shut up? (imitates her high-pitched voice) Oh, that’s not rude, Bree?

BREE
Why are you being a jerk to me right now, David?

DAVID
I told you to go to the bathroom, remember? When we were eating lunch at Wendy’s, I told you that.

The conversation is over but it’s a stalemate. They both stare straight ahead. David fidgets in the silence. He flips on the radio and finds another country song.

BREE rummages through her purse, but it’s no use. She knows there is nothing there to help. She didn’t know she was going to get her period this weekend.

David looks over at her as she pitifully sulks.

DAVID
Okay, look. I’m sorry. I was just playin’ around. I will pull over for you. Even though we are in the middle of nowhere, I will always pull over for you.

BREE
(softens) Thank you.

DAVID
I don’t know what we are going to find out here…

BREE
Anything will be fine. A gas station or a store.

DAVID
Anything for you. Baby wants, baby gets.

The truck pulls off the highway at a lonely exit.

EXT. GAS STATION / CONVENIENCE STORE – CONTINUED

A small gas station / convenience store appears. It’s a converted old homestead, complete with front porch swing.

DAVID

One or two?

BREE
What?

DAVID
Do you need to go #1 or do you need to go #2? I’m just wondering how long this is gonna take.

BREE
Ew – Gross!

DAVID chuckles as BREE scrunches up her face at him in disgust. BREE is repulsed yet amused. She gets out of the truck, still scoffing at him.

BREE
(under her breath) Number 3.

DAVID gets out to pump gas. He calls after her.

DAVID
You better enjoy it while you can! After this, you’ll be shittin’ in the woods.

INT. GAS STATION CONVENIENCE STORE – CONTINUED

Inside the store, she scans the aisles. Obscene rows of chocolate and candies, bubblegum, triscuits, shampoo, batteries, engine oil- where is it?

She finally spies it tucked under the toilet paper: a single box of tampons. The cheap cardboard and dry cotton kind. She knows she will curse each and every one. She snatches it up along with a bottle of painkillers.

The CLERK (50) at the register gives her a gold-toothed smile as he scans each item. She averts his gaze and impulsively grabs a bag of chips to add to her embarrassing purchases.

CLERK
$12.47

BREE takes a debit card from her wallet and hands it to the CLERK. He swipes the card.

BREE reaches for the receipt and card from the CLERK. He hands it to her but does not release during the exchange. She feels the tug and looks up at him.

CLERK
Smile.

There is a strange twinkle in the CASHIER’S eyes. BREE is startled, caught off guard. She is unsure how to respond and not sure if he is being sincere. She reluctantly gives him an awkward, half-smile. She takes her bag and hurries to the bathroom at the back of the store.

INT. BATHROOM – CONTINUED

BREE hovers over the toilet to pee, looking down at the small red stain on her underwear. She holds her breath and twists her body to pry the cheap, single-ply toilet paper, but it only lets out a few paper-thin squares.

She wads up a handful and wipes, pulling back the white paper stained with a swath of red, repulsive blood. She exhales, squeezing her legs to hover. Another wad of toilet paper and another wipe. Now, she really has to balance to rip open the box of tampons.

She unwraps the long white cork from its package. She is huffing her breaths now. She shuts her eyes and pushes the bullet inside her.

She cleans herself again and pulls her pants up. She lifts one leg and kicks the lever, flushing the entire mess.

She lets out a sigh of relief as she washes her hands clean.

INT. CONVENIENCE STORE – CONTINUED

When she walks past the cashier ringing up a customer, they lock eyes again. She pushes out the door into the flood of sunlight.

EXT. GAS STATION PARKING LOT – CONTINUED

BREE walks back to the truck. When she climbs inside, she slams the door behind her. DAVID is surprised by the sound.

DAVID
Hey! Damn. Watch the door.

He starts the truck, shifts into gear and merges back onto the highway.

EXT. BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS – CONTINUED

The scenery is beautiful, even from the highway. The mountains appear blue from a distance. The truck corners through the switchbacks on the long, winding road.

Finally, they come to a dirt road in the tree line. The GPS dings.

DAVID
Here it is.

Bree lets out a long, frustrated sigh. David snaps back at this.

DAVID
What?

BREE
Nothing.

DAVID
Oh, okay. Good.

BREE
I’m sure this is going to be totally fun.

DAVID
Oh, what!? What’s wrong now, sweetheart?

BREE
Don’t call me sweetheart.

DAVID
What? Sweetheart?

He grins at her, hiding behind a toothy smile. This back-and-forth is all part of the power dynamic between them.

BREE
I don’t call you cute little names. It’s stupid. Haven’t you ever noticed that?

DAVID ^
Oh my GOD! You’ve been stuck inside this car too long. Just try to relax, okay? This is supposed to be a fun camping trip. Just you and me.

BREE
Yeah, let’s not kill each other.

He has a strange look in his eye as he glares at her.

EXT. CAMPSITE – CONTINUED

The truck ventures down the road, heading deeper into the woods just as the Sun began to wane over the blue mountains. The trees were thick on both sides of the road, creating an artificial darkness in the afternoon.

BREE
(nervous) Logging Road 51?

DAVID
Don’t worry, it’s not used for that anymore.

There is another yellow diamond sign. It only has a picture of a jumping deer. David flips on the headlights.

He pulls onto a soft path in the forest which opens into a clearing in the trees.

He kills the ignition. The engine lets out one final growl and the blaring radio dies mid-lyric. The hum of nature fills in the silence.

DAVID hops out of the truck and begins to unload gear out from the bed. BREE climbs down slowly and looks disappointed as she scans the campsite.

DAVID
BREE… BREE! (yelling) Can you help me set the tent?

BREE turns and walks towards him.

DAVID
Can you pull everything out of this bag and just set it out for me, please? Don’t loose any pieces. I’m gonna start a fire. Hurry, we gotta hurry. We are already behind schedule.

He grabs his headlamp and ventures in the underbrush.

BREE huddles over the bag. She flattens the tarp and pulls the contents out. 2 slender poles. A mallet. 8 metal pins. 4 fasteners. 2 sheets of tent canvas and 1 instruction guide.

She looks up at sky overhead. A brown hawk floats listlessly in the air.

DAVID trudges through the forest, crunching twigs with every step. He drops several logs near the fire pit.

DAVID
Can you gather some dried leaves now? Not pine needles. Right here at the edge, you don’t have to go in there. (he makes a circle with his arms)

BREE
Um, do you have any gloves?

She looks down at the rotting leaves.

DAVID
What? Oh, just use a plastic bag or something, I guess.

She wraps each hand in a sandwich bag and begins kicking around at the earth. DAVID hammers away at the tent spikes. After the last one, he lights up a cigarette.

He positions logs like a teepee over the leaves and uses his cigarette lighter to start the fire. It forms slowly, from a blue whisper to red tongues licking the air. Smoke begins to rise into the sky above, already turning red from the sunset.

David salts a slab of muscle with olive oil, salt and pepper. He lays the steak in a cast iron skillet and slides it over the campfire grate.

He collapses into a flimsy folding chair with a grunt.

DAVID
Now that’s what I’m talking about!

BREE
What about my salad?

DAVID
It’s already mixed together in a big bag in the cooler. Just set it up in bowls and put some dressing on it.

BREE divides the salad and hands him a bowl. David munches loudly as he pokes at the steak.

BREE
There is this beautiful stream. It runs down the other side of the mountain. I’ll take you there tomorrow. Really beautiful. Did you bring any other shoes?” He eyes her dirty Uggs.

Before she can answer- a noise in the forest. A snap and a little rustle. Bree and David look around, but they can’t make out anything moving. Now the rustling sound is growing louder, surrounding them.

Raindrops.

BREE struggles with the hood of her sweatshirt, supremely annoyed.

“Come on!” He drops his salad bowl and covers the steak. “Bree!”

“Give me a second!” She is adjusting her hood. “What?”

“Help!”

“Help with what?” BREE scrunches her face, supremely annoyed.

“The tent!”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Shine the lantern.” He tosses her a plastic red lantern.

Bree watches over his shoulder as he rifles through the tent pieces, laid out according to the diagram in his hand. She is befuddled.

“Hurry. We gotta hurry.” He repeats as he pushes on the poles through loops in the canvas. Suddenly, the bubble of the tent forms. David unzips the arched door and lays another tarp down inside.

“Okay, put in your sleeping bag.” He shouts to her as he runs to the truck bed. He pushes in after her and tucks the lantern in the corner.

He jumps out of the tent. “Okay, let’s try to salvage dinner.” He uncovers the lid just as the rain is really starting to pour. The fire begins to die. “No! Shoot. Just get inside the tent, Bree!”

David tosses everything undercover. He bags up the steak and throws it inside the cooler. “It’s not cooked.” He says as he clambers into the tent. He looks out sadly on the hissing fire pit before zipping up the door.

A fluorescent glow from the lantern casts their black silhouettes against the wall of the tent.

INT. TENT – CONTINUED

Inside the tent, the tension between the couple is palpable. Both stonewall each other in an attempt to save face and get the upper hand. Neither wants to be the first to break this awful silence. Finally, DAVID offers an apology that sounds just like an accusation.

DAVID
I’m sorry you’re not having a good time.

BREE
Well, you lied to me. This isn’t romantic at all!

DAVID
Well maybe if you listened for once in your life you would-

BREE
Ahhh! (Screams)

DAVID
What?!

BREE
It’s a huge spider! Get it out!

DAVID
Oh my God! Grow up.

DAVID snaps out these words impulsively and BREE is visibly hurt.

DAVID gently scoops up the spider with a paper plate and tosses it out of the tent. He zips up the door and turns back to see BREE waiting for an apology.

DAVID
Don’t worry, I won’t ever ask you to do this again.

He is unsure what to say and resigns to his sleeping bag. BREE unfurls her own sleeping bag and slides inside.

She turns away from DAVID and peers up at the moon, shining through a small open flap at the top of tent.

EXT. TENT – CONTINUED

Strange hoots and chirps echo through the trees. A dark figure stands silently near the edge of the clearing, watching the silhouettes on the side of the tent.

When BREE turns out the lantern, the figure retreats into the darkness.